health

For years we have been waiting for our leaders to come up to come up with a solution to the healthcare crisis in this country. We thought Obamacare was going to be the solution. Unfortunately, it has not turned out that way. While it has been a blessing to a a particular group, it has negatively impacted so many others. Recently, we were let down by the GOP, who supposedly were going to present something that they had in the works for several years. Sadly the plan that was laid down was inefficient and would make things worse according to pretty much everyone that spoke up.

I am not a politician. I do not have a degree in finance or medicine, but I do have something that seems to be missing in many places, common sense and a desire to fix things.

Trying to tailor a healthcare bill that makes everyone happy in the United States is like trying to fit everyone into a “one size fits all” t-shirt. Newsflash, it doesn’t fit all. What continues to happen is that we keep getting left with the same issue, and things become progressively worse. From an observing American’s point of view, we have two large problems. that go hand in hand. Both the pharmaceutical and insurance industry’s chokehold on the American public. This coupled with the loyalty to campaign donors would be reason enough not to step on toes.

Therefore, after taking all of that into consideration, I present the following solutions, which may or may not have been previously discussed, but seem like a start:

Solution #1

Kick healthcare back to the states and have them work on a solution that benefits their state. Not all states have the same demographics so this would be an option. They can tailor their plans to fit theirs and keep their constituents happy. It alleviates the situation in D.C. since this has become quite the circus, and a real solution that everyone will be happy with, seems nowhere in sight. Repealing Obamacare would be like stealing a lollipop from a child at the park. We will never hear the end of it from the left and it will create chaos with people’s plans however bad they are at the moment.

Solution #2:

There are many people who are relatively healthy. These people are not going to enroll in any plan where they will be paying thousands of dollars a year to go once a year for a checkup. They would rather pay a fine. A solution would be to implement some sort of structured fee schedule that is not as low as the one that Medicare uses. Instead of a physician billing you $300.00-$500.00 for one consultation, when health insurance pays them regularly $20-50 a visit, a structured fee schedule could be put in place for healthy uninsured Americans that would enable them to get the preventive care they need to ensure they stay that way. The same would apply to diagnostic facilities, and laboratories.

Currently, an MRI scan can run anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000.00 when you are uninsured. That is an exorbitant amount for a standard test. When health insurance does pay for it, they pay about $300.00 and when auto insurance pays, in the case of auto accidents, they pay $800-900.00. Lab work is the same, when it is run through a doctor’s office its roughly $80-$150.00, when paying for it out of pocket it’s about $600.00. These prices serve as a deterrent for people who actually feel fine to not even go in even for wellness checkups. You could end up paying $3,000.00 for 2 doctor visits, and some lab work, when you feel perfectly fine. I, personally, would rather take a vacation for a week then spend it on doctors to tell me I’m fine, especially if I feel fine.

Implementing a nationalized fee schedule would be a solution to this situation. Hospitals, physicians, diagnostic facilities and laboratories would adhere to this fee schedule for those who are paying out of pocket on the spot. This may even promote some credit card companies to offer health cards so you can charge it. Presently, Care Credit, offers a card like this but its use is limited to dentistry and plastic surgery.

These same healthy people could also be offered a smaller separate plan for emergency situations. These plans could be contingent on no pre-existing medical conditions at a fraction of a what the monthly cost is for a full-service plan.

There are many other options out there, that are doable if the concern is really the health of our citizens, but it seems that the problem is that we are too busy trying to make sure that the only ones that don’t get the shaft at the end of the day are the insurance companies.